Integrated circuits are commonly mounted on supports or substrates which are referred to as chip carriers. Conductors on the chip carrier are connected to the integrated circuit and extend to the edges of the carrier. Sheet metal leads are connected to these conductors on the carrier and extend outwardly from the edges of the substrate. When the integrated circuit is placed in service, these leads in turn are soldered to terminal areas on a circuit board.
Prior to placement of an integrated circuit on a chip carrier in service, it is necessary to carry out several operations such as testing of the circuit, trimming of the leads extending from the chip carrier, and usually, forming or bending of these leads so that the chip carrier will be supported above the surface of the circuit board on which it is mounted. The leads are extremely delicate and these operations normally require repeated handling of the chip carrier, which handling must be done very carefully and which nonetheless may result in damage to the chip carrier. For example, in order to test the integrated circuit, it is necessary to place the chip carrier in a connector so that the leads can be temporarily connected to terminals in a complementary connector. The trimming and forming operations are carried out separately so that the chip carrier must be handled during all of these preliminary operations before the integrated circuit can be placed in service.
The present invention is directed to the achievement of a fixture into which a chip carrier can be placed at the time of manufacture and from which it need not be removed until the integrated circuit is actually placed in service. The invention is thus directed to the achievement of a fixture which will permit all of the operations required to be carried out on the chip carrier and on the leads thereof so that the fixture can serve also as a protective package for the chip carrier.